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Rope Ball Surprise Dog Toy

I’ve watched my pooches take down dozens of stuffed animals in a few seconds flat. Seriously – if it squeaks, they will gut it just to find the squeaker, which they could then choke on. The risk, and vet bills, are so not worth it. We always get them at least one safe, new toy to share for Christmas, but I decided to make something special instead this year.

The surprise part of this otherwise-straightforward rope knot toy is the treat inside! My pooches LOVE their Kongs, which are dog toys you can pop little treats into, and are hard for pups to get at. Unfortunately, my pooches have mastered the puzzle that is their Kongs, so they solve them super quick. This rope ball should present a challenge!

Supplies

Directions

Using two twist ties, secure the ends of your rope from raveling. Then, follow the instructions below for tying it into a monkey’s fist knot. I find the monkey’s fist knot to be challenging, so it might take a couple of tries to get the knot just right. This toy is really just a giant monkey’s fist, but before finishing and tightening the knot at the end, you slip in a dog treat (see step 5).

For my monkey’s knot toy, I used three wraps per section of the toy pictured in this post, though you can wrap it as many times as you like (or can fit into your knot). Also, for the sake of demonstration, I used nylon rope for the photos since it had a bit of color to it.

When you finish your knot, trim any excess rope and remove the twist ties before giving the toy to your pups! I like to wrap dog presents in plain tissue paper & ribbon, no tape, so they can open them themselves… Nerd. Alert. Sorry.

If your dog struggles getting the treat out, you might want to throw them a bone(sorry again) and replace the treat with a fresh one every once in awhile. Gotta keep ’em entertained!

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a knitting, crochet and crafts designer. She first learned to knit at age 8 from a grandmother who saw in her a need for something to keep her busy. She's now a full time designer, video host, blogger & teacher. You can keep up with her designs and more by following handsoccupied on your favorite social network.

Comments

It depends on how your dog gets to the treat. You can always retie the knot if they undo it entirely! One of my dogs is better than the other at solving treat puzzles, so she pops it out. The other dog just likes playing with the treatless rope ball.

I can’t wait to try this! Just got a German shepherd puppy who is going to be GIANT. I’ll need to make one the size of my head. Thanks for saving my furniture and sanity. (He’s a good boy tho LOL!) I love wrapping their gifts too!!!

My puppy had a plastic cat toy with a bell inside. He LOVED it, and would throw it around and chase it. He finally chewed it open, and I had to throw it away. I think I’ll make a few of these and put small jingle bells in them.

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Hi! I’m Heidi Gustad, and I’m a yarn crafts designer and blogger, partial to primary colors, vintage style and most needlecrafts. Along with two designer friends, I co-host The Very Serious Crafts Podcast. My first book is set to be released in the fall of 2020.